vicar apostolic
Preserved but no longer current.
In the Roman Catholic Church, a titular bishop appointed to a place where no episcopate has been established, or where the succession has been interrupted. From 1623 until 1850 the Roman Catholic Church in England was governed by vicars apostolic. The term formerly denoted a bishop to whom the Pope delegated some part of his jurisdiction.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “vicar apostolic” mean?
In the Roman Catholic Church, a titular bishop appointed to a place where no episcopate has been established, or where the succession has been interrupted. From 1623 until 1850 the Roman Catholic Church in England was governed by vicars apostolic. The term formerly denoted a bishop to whom the Pope delegated some part of his jurisdiction.
Is “vicar apostolic” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.